Diablo III release date confirmed for May

Blizzard sets firm spring launch for dungeon crawling sequel

Rumors and speculation be damned! Blizzard Entertainment today confirmed that Diablo III will be plundering the depths of retail on May 15.

The long-awaited sequel will appear in physical form for PC and Mac in North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau; while Sanctuary heroes in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil will have to download their digital copy from Blizzard's Battle.net service. Rounding out its global release, Diablo III will be ready for Russia and Latin America countries on June 7, followed by other localized versions throughout the globe at a later date.

"After many years of hard work by our development team and months of beta testing by hundreds of thousands of dedicated players around the world, we're now in the homestretch," said Blizzard's Mike Morhaime. "We look forward to putting the final polish on Diablo III over the next two months and delivering the ultimate action-RPG experience to gamers worldwide starting on May 15."

The regular Diablo III edition will run for $59.99, while the Collector's Edition will set diehard fans back $99.99. The latter version will ship with a slew of extras, including a behind-the-scenes documentary, Diablo III soundtrack, a 208-page Art of Diablo III book; and a 4GB soulstone USB containing full versions of Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, plus in-game freebies for Diablo III, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Blizzard is also dangling a free copy of Diablo III out as an incentive to buy a World of Warcraft Annual Pass. Which begs the question: who has time for both??

Excited for Diablo III? Check out our latest beta preview, and let us know if you'll be fighting the armies of the Burning Hells on day one.